Full fashioned knitting machine



March 10, 1936. E, R|HTER ET AL 2,033,301

FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 30, 1952 9 Sheets-Sheet l WFYVH ATTORN II. I

E. RICHTER ET AL FULL FASHIONED KNITTING- MACHINE March 10, 1936.

9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 30, 1932 FlE- E.

- INVENTORS: EmiZ..ZZidzZeI gun 121$," CL

FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 30, 1932 9 Sheets-Sheet s I. 9 INVENTORS: I I Ermlliwkier 6i BY fawSa r m/Mi;

March 10, 1936. E. RICHTER El AL 2,033,301

FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 30, 1932 9 SheetsShee't 4 I 61 66 g I8 6'7 "I Jj/ IN VEN TOR March 10, 1936.

, E. RICHTER EIAL 2, 33,301

FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 50, 1932 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR I (i- E. RICHTER El AL FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINE Filed Sept so, 1932 March 10, 1936.

9 Sheets-Sheet 6 llzimlill final midi E. RICHTER ET AL FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINE March 10, 1936.

9 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Sept. 50, 1932 W ATTORNE March 10, 1936. E HTER E 2,033,301

Filed Sept 30, 1932 FL EI-3.1.5;

' )NVENTO s.- 1 v Efidlliickhrz- March 10, 1936. c'H g ET AL 2,033,301

FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed Sept, 30, 1952 v E lllllllll 6% l. E-

3 u If y BY IZmI/Z 5042115056 ATTORNE Patented Mar. 10, 1936 FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MAC tion of Pennsylvania Application September 30, 1932, Serial No. 635,490

23 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for producingan ornamental fabric and relates more particularly to improved mechanisms for producing a knitted fabric having openings therein of an ornamental design and has for its primary object the provision of novel types of mechanisms arranged in novel association to enable the knitted fabric to be economically produced.

An object of the invention resides in modifying and associating component parts of a stocking knitting machine to enable the, same to economically displace various loops of the stocking in the knitting thereof to produce ornamental effects, producing these effects over practically the entire 15 area of the stocking. 7

Another object of the invention resides in adding simplified attachments to a full fashioned hosiery knitting machine to enable the same to either function to knit plain fabric or function 20 to knit lace fabric. 7

A feature of the invention resides in the novel manner of relating the point mechanism, the needle mechanism, the narrowing mechanism and actuating mechanisms therefor to enable the same to cofunction in proper time relation to form courses of plain loops and displace predetermined loops in short time intervals to enable the economical production of the fabric.

Our invention is distinguished in the use of novel mechanism for rendering the usual narrowing mechanism inactive at desired intervals, in the use of simplified type of narrowing mechanism and in the novel relation existing between the various mechanisms to enable a full 5. fashioned stocking knitting machine to morev quickly function.

With these and other objects in view the invention will be better understood from the followingdetailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 isa front elevation of a Reading type of full fashioned knitting machine showing our improved attachments that are necessary to produce the ornamental stocking.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of an intermediate section of the machine.

Fig. 5 is a top plan View of a portion of the lace stitch attachment. Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a portion of the lace stitch mechanism.

Figs. '7 and 8 are views of the cams used with our lace stitch mechanism.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on the line 9 9 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view on the line Ill-l0 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 11 is a top plan vlewof apart of the; narrowing mechanism.

Fig. 12 is a sectional view on the line lZ-lZ of Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a side' elevation of the needle cam.

Fig. 14 is a side elevation of the point cam.

Fig. 15 is a diagrammatic view of a portion of a course of knitted loops.

Fig. 16 is a diagram illustrating the path of travel of the needle.

Fig. 17 is a diagram illustrating an end view of the path of travel of the point.

Fig. 18 is a diagram illustrating a front View of the point movement.

Figs. 19 to 21 illustrate positions of the point and needle in displacing a loop.

Fig. 22 is a perspective view of the pattern control mechanism.

Fig. 23 is a diagrammatic view of a portion of a fabric constructed in accordance with our invention.

This application is in part a continuation of our co-pending application Serial Number 561,536, filed September 8, 1931, for Lace attachment for full fashioned knitting machine.

Referring to the drawings it will be noted that for the sake of clearness we have eliminated from the drawings detail parts of mechanisms that are utilized on the Reading type of machine, illustrating nly parts of various mechanisms necessary in the proper co-functioning of our improved mechanismsfor the production of the type of fabric shown in Fig. 23. Therefore, our invention is illustrated and described basically as consisting of a frame A; a power mechanism B; a chain motion mechanism C; narrowing and carrier motion mechanism D; a needle bar mechanism E; a sinker and divider mechanism F; and a lace stitch motion mechanism G.

Referring to Figs. 15 and 23, it will be noted that certain loops are displaced coursewise of the fabric so as to extend from one wale into an adjacent wale thereby providing an opening in the fabric for the production of the desired ornamental effect. This is known in. the trade as a transferred loop but we wish it to be understood that a transferred loop is a displaced loop extending from one wale into an adjacent wale. These displaced loops are designated by the numeral l and each is cooperatively associated with an adjacent plain loop 2 in the adjacent wale.

Frame A The frame A is of the well known construction including the front and back beams 1 and 8, front and center beds 9 and I and end and center frames and I2.

Power mechanism B The power mechanism B consists of the power or cam shaft I3 associated with the shifting device l4 manipulated by the chain motion mechanism in a manner hereinafter described. Also connected to the power shaft I3 are the needle cams l5 and I6, narrowing cams l1 and I8 and a pattern cam l9.

The cam shaft is operated by a prime mover such as an electric motor through a suitable clutch connection well known in the art..

Chain motion mechanism C The chain motion mechanism C consists preferably, as shown in Figs. 1-3, 11 and 22, of duplex pattern chains and 2|, the chain 20 determining the courses in which a narrowing operation is to take place, and controlling the operation of the machine and the regular narrowing motion of the cam shaft l3 through actuation of the shifting device l4 in a manner well known in the trade, and simultaneously actuating the carrier motion mechanism D in the manner hereinafter described; while chain 2| is specially provided to determine which courses shall be lace or other special stitch courses by causing shifting of the shaft l3, without actuating the carrier motion mechanism D, on the narrowing and carrier motion mechanisms at desired periods in the cycle of operation of the machine in the knitting of a lace design stocking. Ordinary actuation of the narrowing and lace stitch motion mechanism is accomplished .in the usual manner, that is to say, by releasing latch arm 22 to project stud shaft roller 23 into operative engagement with the shifting device previously described. The pattern chain 2| is mounted on an extension of the usual pattern drum axle of chain 20 and preferably rotated independently of said main pattern chain as by its own gear pawl 24 'and' a lever 25 operatively connected thereto and actuated by a suitable cam 26 on shaft |3. The pattern chain 2| travels around power drum 2'! and an idle drum 28 with suitable buttons thereon adapted to lift latch arm 22 to effect shifting of the cam shaft for forming lace or other special stitches as required.

In order that the special pattern chain 2| may effect shifting of the narrowing cam shaft without causing operation of the narrowing and carrier motion mechanism attachments of the machine as hereinafter described, arm 22 is shown with a projection 30 actuated only by a button operated lifting lever 3| overhanging pattern chain 2|, buttons on said chain holding said arm raised to cause shifting of the cam shaft whenever required.

Copivotally mounted with arm 22 is a lever 32 operated by a button on the pattern chain 20. This lever 32 is connected by a rod 33 with a latch 34 controlling the dropping of the roller 35 into operative engagement witha face cam 36 mounted on the main cam shaft I3.

The roller 35 is carried-on a swinging extension 36a of a centrally pivoted lever 31 that is con nected through a lever 38a, pivotallymounted at 381) to bracket 38c mounted on back beam 8, to a rod 38 which, in turn, is connected with one end of the centrally pivoted lever 39 which slidably controls the positioning of the roller 40 relative to the cam IT. This roller 40 is supported on a lift lever 4|, that controls the operation of the narrowing attachment and the carrier motion mechanism.

Narrowing and carrier motion mechanism D The narrowing and carrier motion mechanism D has been designed so that the same may function in the shifting of the main cam shaft under certain conditions but will not function under certain other conditions in the shifting of the cam shaft. This is necessary in view of the fact that in the production of the fabric the length of travel of the yarn and thenumber of needles engaged by the yarn is varied according to the narrowing of the stocking leg blank, the narrowing devices or points being rendered inoperative in this particular case although we wish it to be understood that the narrowing points may be set in operation if so desired. The narrowing and carrier motion mechanism or attachment designated in its entirety by the letter D and including the lever 4| consists of a pawl device 42 operatively associated with the usual ratchets 43 and 44 mounted on the narrowing spindle 45 and yarn carrier spindle 46. These spindles and associated parts are of the usual construction to variably move the narrowing combs or points 41 of each knitting section towards and away from each other and to vary the travel of the carrier rods 48 which support the yarn carriers 49 in the usual manner. To enable the spindles 45 and 46 to be selectively thrown into connection with the ratchet device 42 the pawls 50 and 5| are pivotally mounted to be manually thrown into operative engagement with the ratchet wheels 43 and 44 by the manipulation of knobs 52 and 52a respectively. Thus, it will be appreciated that by throwing both pawls out of operation both spindles are rendered inactive and by throwing the pawl 5| into engagement with the ratchet 44 the carrier spindle 46 will be rendered operative while the spindle 45 remains inactive, due to the fact that the pawl 50 is moved out of engagement with the ratchet 43. This action renders the narrowing mechanism inactive including the combs 41 but allows varying movements of the carrier rods 48 to vary the distance of travel of the thread-carriers 49 to vary the number of needles engaged by the thread and thereby the width of the fabric being knitted.

Needle bar motion mechanism E Sinker and div der operating mechanism F The sinker and divider operating mechanism F is of the usual construction consisting basically of the sinkers 5'! and dividers 5B operated by the operating mechanism 59 in proper time relation with the needles to enable the needles to properly form loops and cofunction with the lace stitch attachment hereinafter described to displace predetermined loops.

Lace stitch motion mechanism G The lace stitch motion mechanism G is a very important feature of our invention and involves novel types of. devices cofunctioning with the mechanism herein described to pick loops from selected needles and displace the same onto adjacent needles to produce interengaging loops practically over the entire area of the fabric to enable the same to possess lace characteristics. The lace stitch motion mechanism broadly includes parts of the usual narrowing mechanism of the full fashioned knitting machine including the rear narrowing shaft 69, front narrowing shaft 6! and arms 62 for rocking the narrowing machine about the shaft 60 in the usual manner, the arms 62 being pivotally connected, through shaft 6|, to the levers 65, carrying rollers 65 c0- functioning with the cams I8 on the main cam shaft I3. These cams I8 have the outline as shown in Fig. 14. The row of points 66 are mounted on a. bar 67 attached to a shiftable rod 68 directly carried by the front narrowing shaft 6|. This rod 68 carriers a collar 69 engageable with one end of a centrally pivoted lever "I0, the other end of which carries a roller II adapted to be selectively brought into engagement with either of the two pattern cam discs or sections 72 and 13, of a pattern wheel 13b.

Referring to Figs. '7 and 8, it will be noted that the cam disc I2 is provided upon its periphery with alternate depressions I4 and projections of a predetermined size and relation to enable the proper shifting of the rod 68 to displace loops onto adjacent needles, whereas in Fig. 8 the depressions I6 and projections TI are of a relatively different size to enable the displacing of loops to a greater extent to create a slightly changed ornamental eifect in the fabric.' For the purpose of selectively moving the roller II into engagement with the discs I2 and 13, we have shown the roller ll slidably mounted on an axle 18 and engaged by the walls of a recess 19 on a slidably mounted pin 89 which in turn is manipulated by a. shiftable handle 8|. As the lever '19 is utilized to force the rod 68 to the left as shown in Fig. 1, we provide an additional lever 82 to shift the rod to the right and to accomplish this the lever 82 is directly pivoted to the front narrowing shaft and arranged to have one end engage with a collar 83' fixed to the rod 68 and its other end connected to a spring 84 functioning to throw the lever in a direction to force the rod to the right as shown in Fig. 1. Thus, it will'be appreciated that when a projection 75 or II of the cam discs I2 and 73 engages the lever I6 the rod will be forced to the left and when the lever I0 engages a recess N or IE of the cam discs the rod will be forced to the right thereby reciprocating points back and forth relative to the row of needles.

For, the purpose of manipulating the discs I2 and I3 in time relation to the various operations of the knitting machine, we have shown a ratchet wheel 85 arranged in fixed relation to the discs I2 and I3 and mounted on the stub shaft 86 that is connected to a bracket 87 fixed to the front narrowing shaft 6| of the narrowing mechanism to dip therewith. This ratchet wheel 85 is manipulated by a pawl 88 pivoted to an arm 89 swingingly mounted on the stub shaft 86 and this arm 89 is held in a retracted position by a spring NH and forced in the opposite direction by engagement with one arm I92 of a pivoted bell crank lever I03 which has its other arm 99 provided with a pin 9| arranged in the path of travel of a sec- 0nd pin 92 carried by a toggle link connection 93 pivotally mounted on the rear narrowing shaft and including a rod 94 connected to a pivotal lever 95 carrying a roller 96 engageable with the pattern cam I9.

Operation Referring to Figs. 19 to 21, we have illustrated in a more or less diagrammatic manner the relative movement of a; single point 91 of the row of points and a single needle 98 of the row of needles for the displacing of a loop from one wale into an adjacent Wale of the fabric. In Fig. 19 we have shown the point 91 pressing the heard of the numerals I9b, 29b and 2Ib the portions of the cams for producing the relative positions of the needles and points as illustrated in Figs. 15 to 21 When a narrowing operation is to be performed, in either a lace stitch course or in the knitting of plain fabric, the pattern chain motion functions to shift the shaft I3 through the manipulation of the shifting device I4 and simultaneously with this action the roller 35 is dropped into operative engagement with the cam face of the cam 36 so that the lever 31 will be swung about its pivot 37a for sliding the rod 38 and thereby manipulating the lever 39 to shift the roller 49 (to the left as viewed in Figs. 1, 11 and 22) into cooperative relation with the narrowing head cam I I and thus actuate the narrowing motion mechanism D, but when no narrowing operation is to be I Performed, the roller M] is not shifted into cooperative relation with the cam I'I, since at this time there is no actuating button on the. pattern chain in position to operate the lever 32, and therefore no movement is imparted to the narrowing motion mechanism. The movement of the shaft I3 to a shifted position brings the cams I8 into operative engagement with the rol ers 65 of the levers 64 to create a dipping operation of he narrowing machine to bring the points 66 into cooperative relation with the row of needles to enable the points to engage with loops as shown in Figs. 19, 20 and -21 and d splace the same coursewise of the fabric. It will be noted in referring to Figs. 19, 20 and 21 that when the loops have been displaced the sinkers and, di-

viders have been retracted by the catch bar I94- in the usual manner to prevent interference thereof with the points in the lateral shifting thereof. As hereinbefore stated, pattern cam I9 manipulates lever 95 for o eration of the togle connection 93 for actuation of the ratchet 92 for bringing the roller II into engagement with a projection or depression of the pattern cam disc I2 or 13, as the case maybe, to shift the rod 68 and displace the loops carried by the points. The main pattern chain functions in the ordinary manner in the shifting of the shaft I3 for ordinary narrowing and in ordinary narrowing the roller 89 is shifted into the path of travel of the cam I'i thereby setting into operation the ratchet device 92 for manipulating spindlestS and 66. When the yarn carriers are to be controlled in their travel for narrowing a stocking blank without resortingto operation of the narrowing combs 41, the pawl 50 is thrown out of active position and thepawl 5| actively engaged with its associated ratchet 44. In the functioning of the chain motion mechanism under these conditions the levers 31 and 39 will be actuated thereby enabling the cam I! toengage the roller 40 in the shifting of the shaft 13. Thus, it will be appreciated that in knitting full length courses in the stocking blank only the mechanism for forming plain loops and the lace stitch motion mechanism is operated but when the width of the stocking blank is to be narrowed the ratchet device is set into operation for manipulating the spindle mechanism for controlling the extent of travel of the carrier thereby varying the width of the stocking blank by varying the distance of travel of the thread engaging the knitting needle. In concluding, we wish to state that we use the word displaced asapplied to loops throughout the specification as meaning a'loop that has been extended from one Wale into an adjacent wale irrespective of the shape or manner of extending the loop, Having described our invention, what we claim is 1. In a full fashioned knitting machine hav-' ing a narrowing spindle mechanism, a cam shaft having an operating cam for said spindle mechanism, and means including a latch arm for shifting said cam shaft longitudinally to position said operating cam, a lever for said spindle mechanism having a cam engaging member normally in non-engaging position, means for positioning said cam engaging member operative to actuate said latch arm, a second means to actuate said latch arm only, a pattern chain controlling said first mentioned latch arm actuating means, and an added pattern chain controlling said second latch arm actuating means.

2. In a full fashioned knitting machine; a row of needles; means associated with said needles for forming succeeding courses of plain loops; a narrowing shaft; a narrowing spindle; a loop displacing attachment coacting in time relation with said needles for displacing loops therefrom and comprising a longitudinally movable point rod, movement-control mechanism therefor includinga pattern cam device and means includ ing a reversely acting lever device engaging said rod. and said pattern device carried by said narrowing shaft and having cam surfaces for preselectively determining which of said needles shall be engaged by points on said point rodin succeeding courses respectively of the fabric and for shifting said pointJod a distance of one or more .needles after engagement of the points with loops on selected needles, and pattern control mechanism adapted to cooperatively clip tlvely dip said shaft, operate said pattern disc device and prevent the operation of said narrowing spindle, said pattern disc device having a plurality of cam paths and means for selectively engaging one of said reversely-acting lever devices with a predetermined cam path of said device and locking the same in such position.

4. In a full fashioned knitting machine having narrowing spindle mechanism, a cam shaft having an operating cam for said spindle mechanism, and means including a latch arm for shifting said cam shaft longitudinally to position said operating cam, a lever for said spindle mechanism having a cam engaging member normally in nonengaging position, means for positioning said'cam engaging member operative to actuate said latch arm, a second means to actuate said latch arm,

-pattern chain structure controlling said first mentioned latch arm actuating means and said second latch arm actuating means, said-pattern chain structure having a plurality of control means arranged in separate travel lanes and said second latch arm actuating means having a chain engaging means movable into a selected lane of control means.

5. In a full fashioned knitting machine; a row of needles; means associatedwith said needles for forming succeeding courses of plain loops; a shaft arranged todip toward said needles; means for dipping the shaft; a narrowing spindle; a loop displacing attachment carried upon said shaft and coasting in time relation with said needles for displacing loops therefrom and comprising a longitudinally movable point rod and a movement control pattern cam device also mounted on said shaft and pattern controlled cam mechanism adapted to cooperatively dip said shaft, operate said pattern cam and render said narrowing spinoperating said spindle mechanism; pattern controlled means for shifting said cam shaft to narrowing position, including means for actuating said pawl structure to operate said spindle mechanism; and other pattern controlled means for shifting said cam shaft to said narrowing position and simultaneously preventing operation of said pawl structure actuating means.

7 In a full fashioned knitting machine having needle sections and a narrowing shaft; arranged to dip toward said needle sections a lace-forming attachment comprising a longitudinally movable lace-point rod and movement-control mechanism therefor mounted on said shaft and comprising reversely acting levers engaging said rod and having respectively a spring tensioning and a pattern cam operative means, and pattern-control mechanism adapted to cooperatively dip said shaft and operate said pattern cam.

8. In a full fashioned knitting machine having needle sections and a narrowing shaft arranged to dip toward said needle sections, a lace forming attachment comprising a longitudinally mova- I ble lace point rod and movement control mechanism therefor mounted on said shaft and comprising reversely acting levers engaging said rod and having respectively a spring tensioning and a pattern cam operative means, said pattern control mechanism adapted to cooperatively dip said shaft and operate said pattern cam, the latter having a plurality of cam paths, and means for engaging its operated lever with a'determined cam path and locking it in such position.

9. In a'full-fashioned knitting machine having a narrowing spindle mechanism and a longitudinally movable cam shaft, pattern controlled means adapted to shift said cam shaft to operate said spindle mechanism, and additional pattern controlled means adapted to shift said cam shaft without operating said spindle mechanism.

10. In a full fashioned knitting machine having a narrowing spindle mechanism, a cam shaft having an operating cam for said spindle mechanism, and means for shifting said cam shaft longitudinally to position said operating cam, means to operatively engage said cam and spindlemechanism, pattern means for jointly operating said shaft shifting and cam engaging means, and added pattern means for shifting said shaft only.

11. In a full fashioned knitting machine having a narrowing spindle mechanism, a cam shaft having an operating cam for said spindle mechanism, and means including a latch arm for shifting said cam shaft longitudinally to position said operating cam, a lever for said spindle mechanism having a cam engaging member normally in nonengaging position, means for positioning said cam engaging member operative to actuate said latch arm, a second means to actuate said latch arm only, a pattern chain controlling said first mentioned latch arm actuating means, and an added pattern chain controlling said latch arm actuating means.

12. ,In a full fashioned knitting machine having a narrowing spindle mechanism, a cam shaft having an operating cam for said spindle mechanism, and means including a latch arm for shifting said cam shaft longitudinally to position said operating cam, a lever for said spindle mechanism having a cam engaging member normally in non-engaging position, means for positioning said cam engaging member operative to actuate said latch arm, a second means to actuate said latch arm only, a pattern chain controlling said first mentioned latch arm actuating means, and an added pattern chain controlling said latch arm actuating means, said added pattern chain having control means adapted to actuate said latch arm to effect immediately repeated cam shaft shifts.

13. In a full fashioned knitting machine having a narrowing spindle mechanism, a cam shaft having an operating cam for said spindle mechanism, and means including a latch arm for shifting said cam shaft longitudinally to position said operating cam, a lever for said spindle mechanism having a cam engaging member normally in non-engaging position, means for positioning said cam engaging member operative to actuate said latch arm, a second means to actuate said latch arm only, a pattern chain controlling said first mentioned latcharm actuating means, and an added pattern chain controlling said latch arm actuating means, said added pattern chain having a plurality of control means arranged in separate travel lanes and said second latch arm actuating means having a chain engaging means movable into a selected lane of control means.

14. In a full fashioned knitting machine, mechanism for producing openwork designs in hosiery consisting of a picot bar capable of vertical and longitudinal movement and provided with a predetermined number of lace points in predetermined positions, means for imparting vertical movements to said bar at predetermined times during the knitting operation, and means for imparting longitudinal movement to said bar at predetermined times during the knitting operation, said first mentioned means being operated from the main cam shaft of the knitting machine and said last mentioned means including a multiplicity of pattern cams which in turn are operated by the first mentioned means, pattern cam operated means, and means for moving and locking said pattern cam operated means into and out of operating position with respect to said pattern cam.

15. In a full fashioned knitting machine, mechanism for producing openwork designs in hosiery said last mentioned means including a shaft supported by means for imparting vertical movement to the bar, a multiplicity of pattern cams rotative- -ly mounted as a unit upon said shaft, a pawling mechanism for rotating said cams, means for operating said pawling mechanism at predetermined times, a rock lever having means engageable with the cam surface of any one of said pattern cams, aslider engaging the edge of said cam engaging means, means for manually operating said slider to slide said cam engaging means so that it will engage any one of said pattern cams, and means for locking said pattern cam engaging means in engaged position with a predetermined pattern cam. l

16. A lace attachment for flat knitting machines comprising a plurality of different irregularly configured cam disks mounted for rotation in unison on a shaft carried by the dipping frame of the machine intermediate its end; a slidable member on said dipping frame adapted for selective actuation through contact with the circumferential edges of cam disks respectively and influential upon the lace point bar of the machine; and means for intermittently rotating the cam disks with attendant variant shifting of the lace point bar against spring action relative to the knitting needles of the machine.

17. A lace attachment for fiat knitting machines comprising a plurality of different irregularly configured cam disks mounted for rotation in unison on a shaft carried by the dipping frame of the machine intermediate its ends; a slidable member on said dipping frame for selective actuation through contact with the circumferential edges of the cam disks respectively, said member operating to shift the lace point bar of the machine; and means for intermittently progressing the cam disks with attendant variant shifting of the lace point bar against spring action'relative to the knitting needles of the machine.

18. A lace attachment for fiat knitting machines comprising a plurality of different irregularly configured cam disks mounted for rotation in unison on a shaft carried by the dipping frame of the machine intermediate its ends; a slidable member on said dipping frame having a slidable roller for selective cooperation with the circumferential edges of the cam disks respectively, said member being influential upon the lace point bar of the machine; and means for intermittently progressing the cam disks with attendant variant shifting of the lace point bar in opposition to' larly configured cam disks mounted for rotation in unison on a shaft carried by the dipping frame of the machine intermediate its ends; a slidable member on said dipping frame adapted for selec-' tive actuation through contact with the circumferential edges of cam disks respectively, said member being influential upon the lace point bar of the machine; and means actuated from the cam shaft of the machine for intermittently progressing the cam disks with attendant variant shifting of the lace point bar in opposition to spring pressure relative to the knitting needles of the machine.

20. A lace attachment for fiat knitting machines comprising a multiplicity of difierent irregularly configured cam disks mounted for rotation in unison on a shaft supported by a block carried by the dipping frame of the machine intermediate its ends; a ratchet wheel associated with the cam disks; an arm swingable about the cam disk axis and carrying a pawl to pick the ratchet wheel; an oscillating member on the dipping frame with a stud to cooperate with a stud on the pawl arm in determining successive picks on the ratchet wheel; connections whereby said actuating member is actuated from the main cam shaft of the machine; and a slidable member on the dipping frame adapted for selective actuation through contact with the circumferential edges of the cam disks respectively and influential upon the lace point bar of the machine, whereby, during the intermittent rotation of the cam disks, the lace point bar of the machine is shifted to varying degrees against spring pressure relative to the knitting needles.

21. In a full fashioned knitting machine, mechanism for effecting open work designs comprising a vertically and longitudinally movable picot bar carrying lace points of predetermined number and position, means operated from the main cam shaft of the machine for effecting the vertical movements of the bar at predetermined times,

anism for effecting open work designs comprising a vertically and longitudinally movable picot bar carrying lace points of predetermined number and position, means operated from the main cam shaft of the machine for effecting the vertical movements of the bar at predetermined times,

means for effecting the longitudinal movements of the bar at predetermined times including a pin supported by means for vertically moving the bar, a unit including a plurality of pattern cams rotatably mounted on the pin, pawl mechanism for actuating the cams, means for operating the pawl mechanism at selected times, a rocker having means for engaging any one of the pattern cams, a slidable element engaging the edge of the camengaging means, means for manually sliding the element between positions in which it engages the cam-engaging means to any selected pattern cam, and means for locking the cam-engaging means in any of said positions.

23. In a full fashioned knitting machine, mechanism for producing open work designs in hosiery consisting of a picot bar capable of vertical and longitudinal movement and provided with a predetermined. number of lace points in predetermined positions, means for imparting vertical movement to said bar at predetermined times during the knitting operation, and means for imparting longitudinal movement to said bar at predetermined times during the knitting operation, said first mentioned means being operated from the main cam shaft of the knitting machine, and said last mentioned means including a shaft supported by the means for imparting .vertical movement to the bar, a. multiplicity of pattern cams rotatably mounted as a unit upon said shaft,

, pawling mechanism for rotating said cams, a rock lever having means engageable with the camsurmeans for manually operating said slider to slide said cam engaging means so that it will engage any one of said pattern cams, and means for locking such pattern cam engaging means in engaged position with a predetermined pattern cam said locking means comprising an extension of said slider operating means, and a groove in the shaft upon which the cam engaging means is mounted with which said extension may engage.

EMIL RICHTER.

PAUL SCHMIDT. 

